The Law Code of Manu Serie Oxford World's Classics. A New Translation by Patrick Olivelle

* The translation is based on the first ever critical edition of the text, established by the translator, to be published by OUP New York.
* The Law Code of Manu is the most authoritative and best-known legal text of ancient India.
* The introduction argues for the unitary authorship of the text and explores the social, political, and economic context within which it was produced. It also analyses the structure of the Code for the first time.
* The copious notes explain the text and compare it to other legal codes of ancient India.
* Four appendices explain the flora and fauna, personal and place names, ritual vocabulary, weights, measures, and currency used in the Code.
* Patrick Olivelle is the foremost scholar of ancient Indian texts and award-winning translator of the Upanisads in Oxford World's Classics.

'Manu was seated, when the great seers came up to him: "Please, Lord, tell us the Laws of all the social classes, as well as of those born in between..."'

The Law Code of Manu is the most authoritative and the best-known legal text of ancient India. Famous for two thousand years it still generates controversy, with Manu's verses being cited in support of the oppression of women and members of the lower castes. A seminal Hindu text, the Law Code is important for its classic description of so many social institutions that have come to be identified with Indian society. It deals with the relationships between social and ethnic groups, between men and women, the organization of the state and the judicial system, reincarnation, the workings of karma, and all aspects of the law.